Rochester Looking At Ways To Deal With All Those Geese

They may not congregate downtown like all those crows do this time of year, but the many geese here has Rochester trying to come up with a new plan to manage them.

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Thousands of Canadian geese have called Rochester for a long time now. They were once drawn to the warm water that used to be discharged into Silver Lake from the old coal-fired power plant nearby.

And while there aren't quite as many geese as there used to be (KTTC notes that the Zumbro Valley Audubon Society estimates our current geese population in Rochester is at about 9,900-- down from a peak of nearly 20,000 in the 90's), there are enough still here that they can cause problems.

In fact, if you've ever tried to navigate your way through the many geese who call various Rochester parks and trails home (like in Silver Lake Park), you've probably either been chased away (geese can sometimes be kinda mean, don'tcha know) or have had to dodge some big piles of goose poop (with varying degrees of success, no doubt).

Which is why the Rochester Parks and Rec Department is trying to come up with a new plan to help control the geese-- and the mess they leave behind. This KIMT story says no drastic steps, like a goose round-up or hunting in the city, are being proposed.

But other plans, like a continued focus on not feeding the geese (which not only attracts the birds but is also unhealthy for them, the KTTC story notes) along with measures designed to keep eggs from hatching, are all on the table.

The story concludes that it's all about balance-- allowing the flock of honkers to thrive here, but not so much that the rest of us can't enjoy Rochester's parks and trails without being overrun with goose poop. Good luck with that, right?